The Greatest Wish in the World (1918)

Genres - Drama  |   Run Time - 90 min.  |   Countries - United Kingdom, United States  |   MPAA Rating - NR
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Synopsis by Hal Erickson

Unfairly dismissed as a hack, British director Maurice Elvey always managed to turn in good work, even with the least promising of story material. Elvey worked absolute miracles with The Greatest Wish in the World, which was based on a treacly novel by E. Temple Thurston. The plot revolves around Peggy (Ordette Goimbault), an orphaned gamine who is adopted by good-hearted Irish priest Father O'Leary (Bransby Williams). Unwise in the ways of the world, Peggy falls in love with the first handsome young man she meets, and the result is an unwanted pregnancy. Following the example set by Father O'Leary (who evidently didn't bother with such details as proper sex education), Ordette gives up her child and becomes a nun. Maudlin though it sounds, The Greatest Wish in the World proved to be an audience favorite.

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Keywords

adoption, child, conscience, girl, Ireland, nun, priest